Can we wash face with buttermilk for fairer slin?

Answer 1

While I cannot say what effect buttermilk has on your skin exactly, I can tell you that it is no miracle beauty substance. To keep your skin clean, you should scrub it once a day with a surfactant. However, you should use either a mild detergent or a non-detergent surfactant to wash your face because standard detergents can take their toll on your skin.

I'm not an expert on this subject, but here's what I know:

Cocamidopropyl Betaine (used in baby shampoo and baby bath) is a non-detergent surfactant that is quite adequate for cleansing your skin (if you scrub with a washcloth!) and it won't harm even delicate skin.

Ammonium/Sodium LAURYL Sulfate are said to be harsher than their LAURETH counterparts. Both of these are very common in skin and hair care products, and the laureth versions tend to cost a bit more but are usually rated better. These are all detergents.

DMDM Hydantoin and Diazolinyl Urea are both a type of agent known as a formaldehyde releaser, and are both very common in personal care products. Formaldehyde is a highly toxic preservative that is said to soften your skin. This effect is probably only temporary, and the long term effects can vary from mere wrinkles to delicate skin even to cancer. Burt's Bees products are known to shy away from these chemicals.

Mineral Oil is just oil saturated with minerals. It is believed to soften skin, but studies have shown that prolonged use leads to pores being clogged with incredibly resilient mineral deposits that can last for years or even decades. It is the primary ingredient in baby oil. I would recommend not putting this on a baby OR an adult.

There are a lot of ingredients to watch out for, and it's hard to know what's really good and what's really bad. If you like a shampoo that has one of the ingredients I listed here as a bad one, that doesn't necessarily mean you should stop using it. Obviously it isn't all that bad, or it would have been banned by now. The biggest factor is your own skin and how it reacts to different products. You have to try different things and decide what feels best to you. But if you don't know where to start, try some of these, as these are my favorite skin-care products:

Burt's Bees Baby Bee Baby Wash

Johnson&Johnson Baby Bath

Burt's Bees Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Creme

Herbal Essences shampoos (they go great on skin too!)

Oil of Olay (I didn't use it, my grandmother did)

water and a washcloth - sometimes that's all you need, as the washcloth can remove excess dirt and oils but never takes away the oils your skin needs

And never leave excess soap on your skin, always rinse well!